Science: Taming the Atom

The atomic dragon's trainers are learning how to gentle him. They have a
long way to go. The dragon is still too fractious to harness; his fiery
breath is still deadly. But last week the trainers announced important
progress; atomic energy may yet do more good than harm. Some day the
dragon may be yoked to a plowshare.

At Los Alamos, N.Mex., the atomic Forbidden City, the physicists
described a gentle atom bomb. It contains enough "fissionable material"
to vaporize its surroundings. But instead of exploding, it smolders as
quietly as a furnace banked for the night.